Need amp education

The Boogie Board

Help Support The Boogie Board:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
T

Tom023

New member
Joined
Dec 12, 2010
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
I am fairly new to electrics and only have owned a basic starter amp. I upgraded and purchased a TA-15 for home use and love the flexibility and sound on 5w mode. The issue is the 15/25w modes have a loud hum, not a hiss as others have reported. I understand tube amps may have some but the level is beyond what I would think is acceptable for an amp geared toward home and studio use. If you listen to this demo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jD9zCvyVgg you can hear the same hum my amp produces. Listen closely right when the video starts and when he changes the channels on the amp and you will hear exactly what my amp is producing. Is this amount of hum normal for tube amps? I've done all the troubleshooting suggestions in the manual and everything checks out fine, tried different rooms and even a power "cleaner" with no improvement. Although the demo obviously has a guitar hooked up, mine makes the same noise with and without an instrument connected and the volume, gain and tone control settings have little impact, just a tad louder if the volume/gain is turned up. Thanks for any input.
 
Hi Tom023,

Congrats on the new amp. The hum you hear is normal. The hum is louder when you use a guitar with single coils as opposed to humbuckers. Hope this helps

Roddie
 
Hi,

The hum I heard in the video is louder than I would like and it is louder than any hum on my TA, at least at lower volumes, but, what are the channel and other settings that display this hum?

You may try swapping out some of the tubes and see what you find. EL84's can sound and hum differently even when they are from the same batch and/or matched and 12AX7's can also bring in hums and other noises/microphonics even when they test okay and are running at lower volumes.

Bill
 
Thanks for the replies. After working on it for a while I just want to close the loop on the thread, sort of. Once again, the hum is with/without an instrument plugged in, only in 15/25 w modes, mainly channel 1 but is there on channel 2 although less severe. Also when pulling out the master switch on channel 1 the hum drops significantly. Position of the volume and tone knobs have no effect. Turning the cut knob to full right masks it noticeably.

I've decided it is either an environmental factor or is just the way it is. After trying 4 cables, 4 locations in my house, swapping all tube positions, a power conditioner and two different TAs, I have the same issue. The shop from which I purchased it sent me a second amp they confirmed was dead quiet between 5/15/25 and said the one I sent back is dead quiet in their store, and I believe them. I'm going to try it at a friend's house and bring over his amp to see if it picks up anything abnormal.

I really like the amp and will use 5w mode most of the time so it won't be an issue. In the mean time I'm just going to enjoy the great sound.

Cheers...happy holidays!
 
I had the same problem on mine. It was diagnosed as faulty and sent back. I suggest you do the same as long as it's covered by warranty.
 
Tom023 said:
Thanks for the replies. After working on it for a while I just want to close the loop on the thread, sort of. Once again, the hum is with/without an instrument plugged in, only in 15/25 w modes, mainly channel 1 but is there on channel 2 although less severe. Also when pulling out the master switch on channel 1 the hum drops significantly. Position of the volume and tone knobs have no effect. Turning the cut knob to full right masks it noticeably.

I've decided it is either an environmental factor or is just the way it is. After trying 4 cables, 4 locations in my house, swapping all tube positions, a power conditioner and two different TAs, I have the same issue. The shop from which I purchased it sent me a second amp they confirmed was dead quiet between 5/15/25 and said the one I sent back is dead quiet in their store, and I believe them. I'm going to try it at a friend's house and bring over his amp to see if it picks up anything abnormal.

I really like the amp and will use 5w mode most of the time so it won't be an issue. In the mean time I'm just going to enjoy the great sound.

Cheers...happy holidays!
Click to expand...

I received a replacement because I sent mine in for this (for me rather unacceptable) level of buzzing. This replacement has the same noise going on, so I guess it is the way these amps are.
 
FORMAT said:
I received a replacement because I sent mine in for this (for me rather unacceptable) level of buzzing. This replacement has the same noise going on, so I guess it is the way these amps are.
Click to expand...

That is the conclusion I came to as well. The local GC manager was kind enough to let me bring in my amp and cab and mix and match with his TA and cab on the floor and there was no difference between any combination of his equipment and mine. I have pretty much forgotten about it since I use 5w most of the time. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
 
Tom023 said:
FORMAT said:
I received a replacement because I sent mine in for this (for me rather unacceptable) level of buzzing. This replacement has the same noise going on, so I guess it is the way these amps are.
Click to expand...

That is the conclusion I came to as well. The local GC manager was kind enough to let me bring in my amp and cab and mix and match with his TA and cab on the floor and there was no difference between any combination of his equipment and mine. I have pretty much forgotten about it since I use 5w most of the time. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
Click to expand...

I recorded a file for Boogie headquarters of the hum and they confirmed it's not normal. So the second one goes back as well.
 
Sorry to hear that the second one had to go back, too.

If you get a chance after it returns, let us know what was fixed to remove the hum.
 
Bill11 said:
Sorry to hear that the second one had to go back, too.

If you get a chance after it returns, let us know what was fixed to remove the hum.
Click to expand...

They'll send back a new one. I cannot obtain any info on what's wrong with it, yet. I'm determined to find out though.
 

Similar threads

bandit2013
Another thread on the RA100, Power tubes
Replies
0
Views
446
bandit2013
bandit2013
bandit2013
Two different amps at the same price: TC100 vs Mark VII
Replies
8
Views
2K
mace
M
bandit2013
Wanted to hear how the STR445 6L6GC tubes sounded in the TC50
Replies
0
Views
277
bandit2013
bandit2013
bandit2013
NAD: Mesa Boogie Mark VII head. WOW
7 8 9
Replies
171
Views
19K
rarebitusa
rarebitusa
Markedman
Mark V35 review
Replies
2
Views
2K
BMW-KTM
B

Latest posts

Back
Top